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> This exotic game allows children to use blends and digraphs to form words. It's a great tool for the children to solidify word blends and digraphs (ch, th, sh) used in every day life. If a teacher decides to not use the word card, it's also a great way for children to learn new words and to expand their vocabulary. This game might be used as a reward game or a review game - either way, the 'game' format makes it exciting to the children and they hardly realize they are learning. This is currently used in my placement as a review game and we use the version where the children can learn new words from it. Their vocabulary expands every time we play. > Word work is used every day in literacy centers and it's specifically important when working with the week's spelling words. Tales of a Teacherista created this word work tic-tac-toe board which gives the children the freedom to pick what they would like to do with their spelling words. Each square gives a fun alternative to simply copying the words over and over. The great thing about the tic-tac-toe word work is the simplicity which allows the children to possibly move around the room and do each activity at centers. My personal favorites that are used are writing the words in a color AB pattern and writing the word and a word it rhymes with. > This activity is apart of a larger unit called "Now Showing...A Unit on Showing Not Telling in Writing". The Open Door Classroom created this unit to get her children away from writing sentences such as "I was happy" and "I am scared". The goal is for children to put more details into their sentences. Feelings Charades is the kickoff to this unit; the children are assigned a feeling and must act it out in the front of the class. The children who are guessing must record the body language being used in their feeling charades chart. This stand alone activity is a great way to the students up and moving and participating in the learning. The real life examples given are a great reference for students when they are writing as well. > Punctuation/Letter shirts can be used in a multitude of ways. The first way is having children wear them and learn them; sometimes associating a punctuation/letter with a person helps children remember when to use it. If a classroom has a large number of different named students, having Abbie wear an 'A', Braydon wear a 'B' and so on can help the children learn the letter sounds and letter. With punctuation, the teacher or students could write any type of sentence on a large sentence strips. Each child could then be assigned a punctuation and stand at the end of the sentence where they are needed. The movement is great for kinesthetic learners and is a great change up for students who are normally sitting within their seats all day. In my placement classroom, we currently use Letter vests and the children are very aware at who begins with what letter. Inside the classroom, we have a student alphabet where the children wear the vests and they can see themselves in alphabet form. > This is a version of the "Head's Up!" game! The children have a word on their back/head and they have to guess what it is. The twist to this game is that the children have to ask the questions used on the worksheet to their classmates and the questions describe the word - they don't name them. Then the child can guess what their word is only after they have filled out all parts of their worksheet (antonym, synonym, guessing what their word is, etc). Once they have guessed their word the back of the worksheet contains information where the child can talk about their word (what it means, using it in a sentence, and drawing a picture of it). After the What's My Word worksheet is complete, the students could present their word to their classmates! This is a perfect game for vocab words or sight words! > Based off the Teacher Tipster, Mr. Smith, this fun maze game is a great way for children to practice a specific set of words. The children must complete a maze, stopping at each word and pronouncing it correctly. Saying the word right unlocks the door and allows the children to continue through the maze. When the children come to a dead end, they must pronounce the words they passed over (again) until they get on a new track. Before the children can reach the end of the maze, however, they must save Stick Figure Ms. Summer in the maze and take her to the end of the maze with them! I think this activity is great for grades 1-5 because the maze difficulties (as well as the word difficulties) can be increased.
 * 1) Interactive Language Arts Sites  Interactive Sites via Weebly is a great website that is separated by subject (Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, etc.) and then divides even deeper into specific topics (ABC's, Parts of Speech, Vocabulary, etc.). Once you pick a topic, it gives the user multiple interactive games that the student can play via a computer, iPad, or SmartBoard. The Interactive Weebly games are used in my placement classroom and my kids enjoy the interactive and funny games. Each game has a character that gives clear instructions and helps walk the child through the game and give reminders on how to play as the game continues. This website is great for all grade levels since one can pick the topic being taught and the child has the independence to play at their own speed.
 * 2) Education.Com  This is the ultimate website, filled with games, worksheets, activities, articles, and more. Broken up by what you're looking for, the site then breaks into grades/topics and you search down from there. The great thing about this website is the endless supply of resources you can pull and know that the goal is for educational purposes. This could easily be used in the classroom for centers, where the teacher picks the topic and grade and the child can pick the game - or the teacher could pull great activities and worksheets to go along with them from this site. Either way, the child is engaged from start to finish and the teacher has multiple possibilities for what they can do for their lessons.
 * 3) [|Veteran's Day Packet K-5]  Designed by the ClutterFree Classroom, this awesome packet is full of writing materials for ages Kindergarten to Fifth Grade. It includes a serious of graphic organizers, resource organizer, rough draft paper templates, final draft paper templates, and even the cover ideas for schema and classroom books. The packet is not only completely free but it gives the freedom of writing a creative text, factual text, or even a letter to a veteran. I am currently using this packet in my placement classroom to write a letter to a veteran and teach the basic letter writing skills. The multiple graphic organizers are a great way for a child to organize their ideas based on their preferences!
 * 4) UH-OH Game! A simple game, young children love the thrill of chance and don't even know they're learning their letters. The letters of the alphabet are mixed into a box and each child must pull out a card and say the letter. If a child pulls out the UH-OH! card they must put all their earned letters back into the mix and try again! The great thing about this game is the ability to customize it for each individual group. The possibilities include: naming the letter, naming the letter and the sound, naming the letter/the sound/and a word that begins with the letter, etc. The simplicity of the game makes it a great learning tool, and the possibilities for differentiation make it great for different skill levels.
 * 5) Tiki Challenge: Blends and Digraphs
 * 1) Tic Tac Toe Word Work
 * 1) Feelings Charades
 * 1) Punctuation/Letter Shirts
 * 1) What's My Word?
 * 1) Save Ms. Summer!